Passing legislation to ban gang patches is the wrong move for New Zealand. It is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, does nothing to get to the root of the problem, and we’re all worse off because of it, says Dr. Roderick Mulgan, Chairperson of the Free Speech Union.

“We will continue to stand by what we’ve said all along. Police should be tough on actual crime – not wardrobes. You don’t have to agree with gangs to defend their rights. When we open the door to censorship, we’re all worse off.

“If we censor select people, the shoe can very quickly switch to the other foot. You can’t pick and choose who gets free expression. What will be banned next?

“Standing for free speech has to mean defending it for your opponents; otherwise, how can we expect to have our rights?

“Censorship can be a natural impulse to things we don’t like, but it’s better to know when hateful or offensive ideas exist. Otherwise, they’re buried underground to fester and can crop up unexpectedly. We see this legislation no differently.

“The Government has already said no to ‘hate speech’ laws and online censorship. So, what makes this legislation okay?

“We will continue to be wary of this move by our Government. Censorship is a hungry beast, and it is never content. Whenever a society opens the door to any censorship, it does so at its peril.”

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